The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from InfoWars host Owen Shroyer regarding his conviction in connection with the January 6th protests.
Shroyer, a well-known commentator and activist associated with Alex Jones’s InfoWars, was found guilty of a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 60 days in prison after admitting to participating in “disruptive and riotous behavior” at the Capitol Building, despite not entering the building himself.
His appeal was turned down as part of a routine release of orders on Monday morning, with no Justice offering dissent or commentary on the decision.
In his petition to the court, Shroyer’s legal team argued that the District Court had failed to acknowledge his “unique role” as a journalist and had infringed upon his First Amendment rights.
“The precedent has been set. You can be arrested & sentenced for legal & lawful speech,” Shroyer wrote on the X platform after his appeal was rejected. “My case was the precedent. The message is clear. Speak out against government & risk arrest.”
The precedent has been set. You can be arrested & sentenced for legal & lawful speech. My case was the precedent. The message is clear. Speak out against government & risk arrest.
Supreme Court won’t hear InfoWars host’s 1st Amendment challenge https://t.co/xo9q5DiURZ
— Owen Shroyer (@OwenShroyer1776) June 3, 2024
Shroyer, although he did not enter the Capitol, had previously signed a deferred prosecution agreement following an incident in 2019 where he disrupted a House Judiciary Committee hearing during Donald Trump’s impeachment proceedings.
As part of the agreement, Shroyer agreed to refrain from using loud, threatening, or abusive language, or engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct on the U.S. Capitol Grounds with the intent to disrupt congressional sessions.
Following his attendance at the Stop the Steal rallies on January 6th, prosecutors targeted Shroyer and accused him of being responsible for the events that occurred due to his prior “violent rhetoric.”
“The Democrats are posing as communists, but we know what they really are,” he said at the time. “They’re just tyrants, they’re tyrants. And so today, on January 6, we declare death to tyranny! Death to tyrants!”
“Shroyer helped create January 6,” the prosecutors wrote at the time. “Shroyer cannot light a fire near a can of gasoline and then express concern or disbelief when it explodes.”
